Massachusetts
A fear of reprisal against Massachusetts shouldn’t silence criticism of Trump, Elizabeth Warren says – The Boston Globe
US Senator Elizabeth Warren said Sunday that Massachusetts elected officials critical of President-elect Trump cannot afford to remain silent over his threat to conduct mass deportations and other proposed policies, despite concerns that the incoming administration could retaliate against the state.
Elected officials must speak up when they have concerns about Trump and his policies, Warren said during an interview on WCVB-TV’s “On The Record” program. She also touched on President Joe Biden’s pardon for his son and whether Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson should resign in the wake of her arrest Friday.
She made these comments as some local officials have expressed anxiety that Massachusetts could see far less federal assistance than under past administrations, with Trump returning to the White House next month and Republican majorities to take over in both chambers of Congress. Massachusetts was one of the few states where a majority of voters didn’t support Trump’s re-election in November, and many local politicians publicly supported his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We cannot start out by rolling over and playing dead in the hopes that if we do that, Donald Trump and his team will leave us alone,” said Warren. “Look, our job is to speak up.”
Warren signaled there is concern the incoming Trump administration will try to claw back federal funds allocated to replacing the Sagamore bridge on Cape Cod. Officials are trying to ensure the money is secure before Trump returns to office, according to Warren.
“With any other administration on God’s green earth, of course it would be guaranteed. It’s already been allocated and so on. What we are working feverishly to do is to literally lock the doors and windows so there is no way to pull that money,” Warren said.
The state had been working to obtain federal funding to help replace the Bourne bridge, but Warren did not sound optimistic about securing those funds.
“That’s going to be harder right now,” Warren said.
Trump has also pledged to deport millions of people across the country and has been rebuked by many of the state’s elected leaders including Warren, Governor Maura Healey, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Healey and Wu have said State Police and Boston police would not assist in mass deportations, while Boston and several other communities have declared themselves sanctuaries for undocumented people residing in those places.
In the interview Sunday, Warren pushed back when WCVB reporter Sharman Sacchetti asked Warren whether she was concerned that those statements put “Massachusetts in the crosshairs” of the incoming Trump White House.
“It is a question that reflects [that] reality, but that is a reality we cannot give into,” Warren said. “It is a reality that says, ‘You want me to start censoring myself on everything I say, if I think the Trump administration is wrong?’ We can’t do that.”
As an example, Warren reiterated her criticism of Trump’s choice for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, an Army National Guard major and combat veteran, who has faced allegations of excessive drinking and sexual assault. Hegseth, who is also a former Fox News host, has been criticized for saying women “straight up” should not serve in combat roles.
“Do you think I shouldn’t speak out on Hegseth just because Donald Trump nominated him?” Warren said.
Warren did not call for the resignation of Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who was arrested and charged Friday in federal court after prosecutors said she took $7,000 as part of a kickback scheme.
Those allegations against Anderson undermine public confidence in elected officials, said Warren, who expressed uncertainty that she could continue as a city councilor.
“It certainly casts a pall, and it certainly raises a question of whether she can effectively do her job,” Warren said.
Warren said she opposed Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden. She did support a blanket pardon for Justice department officials who investigated Trump, including ones who looked into his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol.
“When Donald Trump has openly said that he intends to use the FBI and the Justice Department, to attack his political enemies who were just doing their jobs in the Justice Department and trying to enforce the law, that’s a time when blanket pardon should be on the table,” Warren said.
Material from prior Globe coverage and the Associated Press was used in this report.
John Hilliard can be reached at john.hilliard@globe.com.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash
SIMSBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A Massachusetts woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with DUI after a crash in Simsbury, according to police.
The crash happened at around 2:15 p.m. on Hartford Avenue and Elm Street. Police responded to reports that one of the operators of the vehicles was unconscious, later becoming conscious.
Upon arrival, police found that operator, who was identified as 39-year-old Allison Beu of Southwick, Massachusetts, outside of her vehicle and interacting with the other involved parties.
The two occupants in the other vehicle were not transported to the hospital.
Beu was charged with DUI and failure to drive in proper lane.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Governor Healey reacts to Brown University shooting
BOSTON (WWLP) – Following the shooting at Brown University, claiming the lives of two students and injuring nine others, Governor Healey is joining calls for anyone with information to contact authorities.
Police have not yet made any arrests in connection with the shooting, but they have released footage of a person of interest, calling on the public for help.
“At this time, we just have to encourage anyone in the public who may know something, see something, to immediately contact law enforcement,” said Healey.
Governor Healey says the Massachusetts State Police are in Rhode Island to assist with the investigation. The governor also spoke to mounting fear on college campuses, as the number of mass shootings in the United States exceeds the number of days so far in the year.
“In speaking with many of them, I know that they are taking all measures to ensure the safety of students and faculty, and certainly as a state we will do everything that we can to support those efforts,” said Governor Healey.
Local to western Massachusetts, UMass Amherst told 22News about their campus safety plans, which include adding emergency preparedness to student orientation and hosting optional active threat training for students, staff, and faculty.
The FBI is offering an award of up to $50,000 leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone who thinks they may have information is encouraged to call the Providence Police.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand.
Massachusetts
This week’s jobs report was messy, but it shows cracks in the economy as 2026 looms – The Boston Globe
“We anticipated that once the government reopened there would be a few months of noisy data, and we would not get a real sense of where the jobs market is until early 2026. That is exactly what we got,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at corporate advisory firm RSM, wrote in a blog post.
Despite potential statistical distortions from the shutdown, the report underscored that private employers remained stuck in low-fire, low-hire mode in October and November, while unemployment reached the highest rate in four years. Wage growth has stalled.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, with most officials saying they were more worried about the job market falling apart than inflation heating up. Tuesday’s payroll numbers show their concerns weren’t unfounded:
- The private sector added an average of 60,500 jobs in the past two months, extending a mostly anemic run of hiring, while the federal workforce declined by 168,000 as DOGE-related deferred resignations took effect.
- The jobless rate crept up to 4.6 percent in November from 4.4 percent in September. (The Labor Department didn’t tally unemployment in October due to the 43-day shutdown.)
- The number of people working part time because of economic conditions increased by more than 1 million, or 24 percent, over the past year.
“The labor market is showing growing fragility as firms grapple with uneven demand, elevated costs, [profit] margin pressure and persistent uncertainty,” economists Gregory Daco and Lydia Boussour said in note.
Here are some job trends I’ll be watching as we move into the new year.
Just a few sectors are in hiring mode.
The economy is vulnerable to a downturn when job growth is limited to a few sectors.
Health care and social assistance accounted for most of the new jobs in November, with a smaller gain in construction.
The economically sensitive manufacturing and transportation-warehousing industries lost jobs, as did information and finance, two largely white-collar sectors that are important employers in Massachusetts. (State-level data for November will be published later this month.)
Layoffs are low but will that last?
Employers are moving cautiously as they assess the impact of tariffs on their businesses, the direction of consumer spending, and whether artificial intelligence might allow them to operate with fewer workers.
Because the slowdown in hiring has yet to turn into a wave of firing, unemployment is relatively low by historical standards even after recent increases.
But there are concerning signs.
- The unemployment rate among Black workers climbed to 8.3 percent last month from 6.4 percent a year earlier even as white unemployment was little changed. Black workers are often hit first when hiring slows or layoffs begin.
- Similarly, the jobless rate for workers without a high school diploma has risen to 6.8 percent from 6 percent over the past year, and unemployment among 20-24 year olds is at its highest level (excluding the COVID shock) since 2015, the tail end of the long “jobless recovery” that followed the Great Recession.
Slack is building in the labor market.
The supply of workers is growing — surprising some economists who expected a decline amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and aggressive deportation campaign.
With hiring on the decline, many people are idle or not working as many hours as they would like.
The U-6 unemployment rate — a measure of labor-market slack that counts not only the officially unemployed, but also discouraged workers who’ve stopped looking and people stuck in part-time jobs who want full-time work — jumped to 8.7 percent in November from 8 percent in September. That’s the highest rate since early 2017 (excluding the COVID era).
How does the Fed react?
Last week, Fed chair Jerome Powell said the central bank’s quarter-point cut, plus two others since September, should be enough to shore up hiring while allowing inflation to resume falling toward officials’ 2 percent target.
Most Fed watchers don’t think the latest jobs report alters that view — for now — and are forecasting just two more rate cuts in 2026.
“The report contains enough softness to justify prior rate cuts, but it offers little support for significantly deeper easing ahead,” Kevin O’Neil at Brandywine Global, told Bloomberg.
Final thought
Massachusetts, which has been shedding jobs this year, seems to be leading the way for the rest of the country.
Call me cautiously pessimistic: Things will get worse before they get better.
Larry Edelman can be reached at larry.edelman@globe.com.
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